Lewis once again had me going back and forth with my like/dislike for his main characters. More Tabitha this time than Eric. Eric is still very flawed, but we see a softer, more caring side to him this time along with his no nonsense, get down to the nitty-gritty of the situation attitude. Toward the end, I was understanding Tabitha more, but I still want to smack her up side the head at times. And Rachel is a Brat (and I’m being nice here) regardless.
I have to admit I was a little concerned when we were introduced to Fang. My first thought was – On no, Lewis is going to go the macho-comic book or Stephen King routine with this. Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised that this addition to the story really did work. ( I’m just glad I don’t have to clean out his trunk.) Some female readers might find this addition cheesy, but I was okay with it. I think Greta really helped with this when she named him. Leave it to her to crack me up at the start of a plot concern. Greta still rocks, as far as I’m concerned, and I would love to see more of her in upcoming books. Or even her own book.
Speaking of their own book, Talbot really came more into his own for me in this second book. I’m hoping to see a spin off series for him or his kind.
Lewis again came through with an action packed book with a good balance of insight into the characters, a variety of paranormal and comic relief to make this a really enjoyable read for me. Plus, this dysfunctional family (of sorts) makes mine seem like the Cleavers.
I had several laugh out loud moments. The power strip comment on page 46 for one and animal crackers on page 196. The reference to the Little Rascal and other TV shows were also fun. I can tell the author and I grew up in or around the same time from a number of his references.
Another thing I like is his vampires’ food infatuations. Those scenes started making me hungry. When Phil and Eric sat down for steaks, I was just about ready to go fire up the grill...even if it was after 10 pm when I was reading that part.
I always like/want some sort of closure at the conclusion of a book so I appreciate the no “cliff-hanging, Porky the Pig pop out moment” at the end this time. Yes, it keeps us fans coming back for more, but it also makes us want to hang authors up by their toenails and feed you to the Oni.
Thank you, Jeremy! Looking forward to the next book.
